DHAKA, Bangladesh, March 8 (Source )- International Women’s Day and its
centenary was observed today across the country in a befitting manner calling upon all to work unitedly for protecting women’s rights.

Different organizations held colourful rallies, discussions,human chains, blood donation, drama, photo exhibitions and cultural programmes to mark the day.

Department of Women and Gender Studies of Dhaka University brought out a rally from the altar of `Aparajeyo Bangla’ on this occasion. Dhaka University VC Prof AAMS Arefin Siddiq led the rally.

The students of the department staged a drama named “Putuler Sangsar’ on the premises of Kalabhaban in DU.

Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal (BSD) General Secretary Comrade Khalequzzaman in a statement urged working men and women to be united to protect women’s rights at all level.

Samajtantrik Mohila Forum organised a photo exhibition at Shaheed Milon Chattar in Dhaka University inaugurated by Prof Kazi Madina.

Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS) Chairman
Habibur Rahman Siraj inaugurated a photo exhibition to mark
international women day at Jatiya Press Club today. BILS will
hold a seminar tomorrow on security of working women at Begum
Sufia Kamal auditorium of National Museum.

Susashaner Jonno Procharavijan (Supra) formed a human chain
in front of National Museum today and staged a street drama on
women rights.

In Rangamati, Chairman of CHT Regional Council Joytirindra
Budhipriya alias Santu Larma at a discussion said women are
deprived of rights, which should be addressed properly.

CHT Mohila Samity and Hill Women Federation held separate
programmes to mark women day and brought out rallies in town.

In Habiganj, the Department of Women organised a rally and
discussion touching different issues of development.

In Feni, a two-day women fair began today on the occasion of
International Women Day. A colourful rally paraded the streets on
this occasion.

In Sherpur, Atiur Rahman, MP, inaugurated the women day
rally. A daylong fair was organized on this occasion.

In Dinajpur, speakers at a seminar demanded introduction of
uniform family code to establish women rights.

In Manikganj, Zahid Malik Swapan, MP, attended a discussion
on women day as the chief guest. Three successful women were
awarded on this occasion.

In Pabna, department of women affairs held a discussion and
brought out a rally to mark the women day. Similar programmes
were also held in Laxmipur district.

ActionAid will hold programmes on March 10 at Chayanat
Bhaban and Rabindra Sarobor in Dhanmondi to celebrate the day.

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Source :The government will in a month begin the tender process for the installation of a 100MW-200MW wind-based independent power plant, according to an inter-ministerial decision made on Sunday.
Power Development Board officials at the meeting, chaired by the state minister for power and energy, Enamul Haque, made a presentation on the establishment of wind turbines in the Bay of Bengal to generate 100MW?200MW of electricity.
This will be the first large wind-based power plant in Bangladesh. The power board earlier made two unsuccessful attempts at running two 1MW power plants in Feni and Cox?s Bazar.
The board officials told the meeting wind turbine could be installed in offshore areas ? about 50 metres off the coast ? at Anwara, Banshkhali or Kutubdia to generate electricity.
They said the average wind speed in the areas identified was 6.5 metres a second above 50 metres from the ground whereas the latest wind turbine can generate electricity at the wind speed of 4.5 metres a second.
?We will go for a pre-qualification tender for the installation of a 100MW?200MW wind-based power plant in a month if the government gives approval,? the power board chairman, ASM Alamgir Kabir, told after the meeting.
He said the plant would be installed as an independent power plant, from where the board would buy electricity.
PDB officials said the price of electricity of the ?environment-friendly? plant could be higher because of higher installation cost.
?The installation cost of 1MW will be around $2 million whereas a conventional gas-based unit costs below $1million for installation,? an official said.
He said there was a risk that the turbine might be affected in cyclones. ?Additional care will be needed to protect the turbine during cyclones.?
The inter-ministry meeting also decided to install four 1MW wind-based power plants at Swandwip, Hatia and Kutubdia.
Officials of the defence and civil aviation ministries, Meteorological Department and the Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation were present.

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To develop Bangladesh as a global interest factor the Goverment initiating Deep sea port infrustucture Source :Bangladeshi Media report state that Government is contemplating the possibility of setting up very expensive deep sea LNG terminal at Chittagong offshore to meet existing and emerging energy crisis. A team comprising of local and foreign experts are set to visit prospective locations from 9 th March 2011. Whether or not LNG is the best possible option to meet Bangladesh energy demand now or in near future is a billion dollar question now. We are not aware whether government has exhausted all options before considering importing LNG as priority option.

Present energy crisis has emanated for not exploring our own petroleum resources foe several years. Bangladesh still has substantial unexploited gas resources both at onshore and offshore. It also has significant untapped coal resources. Appropriate exploitation of own gas resource and extraction of our own coal can still support our energy requirement for few decade. Experts will bear with us that exploring and exploiting own resources will be much cheaper than setting up LNG terminal and importing LNG. Our large neighbour India did not have very pleasant experience in LNG option. Do not know what kind of home work has been done by Bangladeshi policy makers before even thinking of investing 1400Crore taka to set up deep water LNG terminal. What made our policy makers for the present mad rush to LNG option? Wonder whether another group of opportunist is trying to take the nation for a ride.

LNG is the most sought after fuel for energy in countries which basically have very little or inadequate fuel resources of its own. Giant Asian economy like Japan, Korea, and China are now very aggressive buyer of LNG. Bangladesh to compete these aggressive buyers in LNG market will not be as easy as it appears to some policy makers. LNG terminals in deep water will not only need huge investment and will take several years to set up unless floating LNG terminals are set up. Location beside Shangu offshore platform will be ideal for floating LNG terminal but are we sure that Shangu will be completely depleted so soon. What happens if 3D seismic in Shangu south strikes some gas structure? If LNG terminal is set up in any other location expensive and time consuming offshore pipeline will require to be built. Bangladesh will need to enter long term LNG purchase contract with potential buyers or buy LNG from spot market. Bangladesh may need to arrange dedicated LNG bullets. These are one part of the game. Cost of LNG at this moment will not be less than US$10.00/MBtu

The price of energy ? power, gas and coal in domestic market is among the lowest in the world .Unless the domestic energy price is significantly increased our economy can not digest the sudden increase of expensive LNG.

Experts know LNG bullets will need at least 12M draft to ply. Our Chittagong port channel has about 9M draft and Mongla 4.5 meter .So neither Chittagong nor Mongla port at this stage or in the nest two three years will be suitable for LNG terminals. If LNG terminal is set up at Kutubdia an expensive offshore pipeline will require to be constructed to transported gas to onshore gas distribution system. This activity itself will take at least 2 years. If we add costs of LNG Terminal with re-gasification facility at Kutubdia, offshore pipeline, and cost of LNG can Bangladesh economy absorb these costs now?

If Shangu really deplete and offshore platform and offshore pipeline is not required to transport gas from Magnama then only areas closer to Shangu offshore platform may be considered for floating LNG terminal. But in any case LNG for Chittagong may not be available in less than 3-4 years leaving apart costs and economics.

It will much better for Bangladesh to encourage Cairn- Santos complete exploration of Magnama and Hatiya and conclude PSC with Conoco Philips and Tullow. Ok Bangladesh can carry out feasibility study for LNG terminal now .But soon all parties will realise LNG for Bangladesh is not ideal option now or in near future.

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Source : Bangladesh’s economy is poised to slow to 5.5 percent growth in the current fiscal year through June from 5.9 percent last year, the Asian Development Bank said on Monday, and urged greater government efforts to encourage investment.

“The global economic recession belatedly affected the Bangladesh economy in the first half of the 2009/10 fiscal year,” the ADB said in its Quarterly Economic Update on Bangladesh.

Export earnings in July-December fell 6.2 percent to $7.27 billion, reflecting subdued demand for readymade garments, which account for 80 percent of total overseas sales.

Net foreign direct investment in Bangladesh in July-December was $197 million, a 67.3 percent decline from the same period of 2008.

The industrial sector continued to be affected by power and gas shortages, the Manila-based ADB said in the report.

“The government needs to … improve the country’s investment climate to encourage domestic and foreign investments. It also needs to develop the capacity of key agencies to boost public sector investment and encourage higher private sector investment,” the ADB said.

It said the country’s farm growth is likely to slow to 4.1 percent in 2010 from 4.6 percent in 2009 while industrial sector growth is set to slow to 5.6 percent from 5.9 percent.

The service sector is projected to grow 5.9 percent from 6.3 percent in the last fiscal year due to the slowdown in trade flows and weaker industrial performance.

The government said it was hoping to achieve 6 percent growth in the current fiscal year.
The ADB said the impoverished country needs to push for job creation to make growth more inclusive.

Nearly 40 percent of Bangladesh’s 150 million people still live on less than $1 a day.

The ADB said excess liquidity in the banking system and rising global commodity prices are likely to push up the inflation rate, which surged to a 15-month high of 8.51 percent in December from 7.24 percent the previous month as food prices rose steeply

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?The government of Japan has donated 27,465 tonnes of wheat to Bangladesh to help stiffen relief infrastructure in a nation vulnerable to natural disasters, the Japanese embassy said on Monday.

“The food assistance will be provided through the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to assist 300,000 ultra-poor people of the country to reduce disaster risk through building community infrastructure,” it said.

The consignment was handed to the food and disaster management ministry.

“We hope this Japanese contribution will help to improve household- and community-based infrastructure, minimising the negative impact of natural hazards”, the statement said.

The government of Japan has been one of the key donors to WFP-supported programmes in Bangladesh, giving approximately $20 million since 2007.
Donors support a
number of targete  food-based programmes in Bangladesh that are widely
credited with providing poor people access to food and improving their food
security. However, inefficiency in the food distribution system may be hindering
the realization of the full benefits of these programmes. The International Food
Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) conducted a comprehensive study of the
efficiency of food distribution in food aid-supported programmes in Bangladesh.
The capacity and efficiency of the food distribution system was assessed from
entry ports to targeted beneficiaries. The study identified problems in the
whole food distribution system, determined the level of losses, leakages,

and other lapses at various

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Today is?International Women’s Day,International Women’s Day has been observed since in the early 1900′s, a time of great expansion and turbulence in the industrialized world that saw booming population growth and the rise of radical ideologies.(IWD) is annually observed on March 8 to celebrate women’s achievements throughout the world. It is also known as the United Nations (UN) Day for Women’s Rights and International Peace.

It is an important occasion to celebrate the achievements and gains made by women and to focus on the job still to be done for working towards achieving equality for women around the world. This day is designated in many countries as a national holiday.

In few nations, IWD is celebrated as an equivalent of Mother’s Day and children give small presents to their mothers and grandmothers. In some countries, school children bring gifts to their female teachers.

Much progress has been made to protect and promote women’s rights in recent times. However, nowhere in the world can women claim to have all the same rights and opportunities as men, according to the UN. The majority of the world’s 1.3 billion absolute poor are women. On an average, women receive between 30 and 40 per cent less pay than men earn for the same work. Women also continue to be victims of violence, with rape and domestic violence listed as significant causes of disability and death among women worldwide. In several countries, women have been raped, and sometimes killed by their individual families to protect the family’s honor.

The history of IWD is the event originated in 1908. In New York, women garment makers demanded better working conditions in the company. The women have worked under very bad conditions and also earned half of men’s wages. They died too early from deprived health. They did not have the right to vote.

In 1910, a second International Conference of Working Women was held in Copenhagen. A woman named Clara Zetkin (Leader of the ‘Women’s Office’ for the Social Democratic Party in Germany) tabled the idea of an International Women’s Day. She proposed that every year in every country, there should be a celebration on the same day – a Women’s Day – to press for their demands.

The conference of over 100 women from 17 countries, representing unions, socialist parties, working women’s clubs, and including the first three women elected to the Finnish parliament, greeted Zetkin’s suggestion with unanimous approval and thus the result was International Women’s Day.

The first IWD was observed on March 19 in 1911. The inaugural event, which included rallies and organized meetings, was a big success in countries such as Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. The March 19 date was chosen because it commemorated the day that the Prussian king promised to introduce votes for women in 1848. The promise gave hope for equality but it was a promise that he failed to keep. In 1913 International Women’s Day was transferred to March 08 and this day has remained the global date for International Women’s Day ever since.

During International Women’s Year in 1975, IWD was given official recognition by the United Nations and was taken up by many governments.

The UN drew global attention to women’s concerns in 1975 by calling for an International Women’s Year. It also convened the first conference on women in Mexico City that year. The UN General Assembly then invited member states to proclaim March 8 as the UN Day for Women’s Rights and International Peace in 1977. The day is aimed to help nations worldwide eliminate discrimination against women. It also focused on helping women gain full and equal participation in global development.

The theme of IWD this year is: Equal rights, equal opportunities: Progress for all.

In a message, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said gender equality and women’s empowerment are fundamental to the global mission of the United Nations to achieve equal rights and dignity for all. This is a matter of basic human rights, as enshrined in the founding Charter of the UN and the Universal Declaration. It is part of the organization’s very identity.

But equality for women and girls is also an economic and social imperative. Until women and girls are liberated from poverty and injustice, all our goals — peace, security, sustainable development — stand in jeopardy, said UN chief. When women are denied the opportunity to better themselves and their societies, we all lose. On this International Women’s Day, let us look critically at the achievements of the past 15 years so we can build on what has worked and has been correct and what has not been. Let us work with renewed determination for a future of equal rights, equal opportunities and progress for all, he said.

In Bangladesh, discussion meetings, rallies, exhibition and other programmes will mark the observance of the electronic media will broadcast special programmes to highlight its significance. National dailies will also publish special supplements on the occasion.

In Bangladesh, women have been subjected to exploitation and negligence for decades for various reasons. According to a published report of Women and Children Affairs Ministry, our women are facing different kinds of repression.

Our women have not been able to make progress due to various reasons in the male-dominated society. Women and children comprise of three-fourths of world population. Woman’s role is significant for smooth maintenance of children and family and for keeping family well-organized. Hence, the role of women is important in social and family life.

As women are in a relatively disadvantaged position, the government has placed more emphasis on ensuring women’s socio-economic development because we cannot achieve our social, political and economic development keeping the women folk, half of our population, neglected. Bangladesh has joined other parts of the world to combat discrimination, violence and injustice against women.

The government’s vision is elimination of violence against women and children through comprehensive efforts and for making arrangements for developing a violence-free society. Its mission is to create awareness among the people regarding various types and severity of gender-based violence and make arrangement for reporting all incidence of violence against women. This will help develop national database and provide all sorts of support to the victims of violence.

The government has introduced the national policies for the advancement of women. Bangladesh is a signatory to various charters on advancement of women and is also committed to implementing those. It has made notable progress in health, education, economic and political participation to benefit 75 per cent of women and girl children and, ultimately, the country.

The satisfactory result has been achieved in reducing gender gap in education and health sectors. Women’s participation has increased at all tiers of our society. At present, women are working everywhere in the society.

Although considerable progress has been made, much more still needs to be done. The government is confident of achieving the goals in future with the united efforts of all concerned.
DAY THEMES

while many people may think there is one global theme each year, this is not always correct. It is completely up to each country and group as to what appropriate theme they select

?2010: Equal rights, equal opportunities: Progress for all
- 2009: Women and men united to end violence against women and girls
- 2008: Investing in Women and Girls
- 2007: Ending Impunity for Violence against Women and Girls
- 2006: Women in decision-making
- 2005: Gender Equality Beyond 2005: Building a More Secure Future
- 2004: Women and HIV/AIDS
- 2003: Gender Equality and the Millennium Development Goals
- 2002: Afghan Women Today: Realities and Opportunities
- 2001: Women and Peace: Women Managing Conflicts
- 2000: Women Uniting for Peace
- 1999: World Free of Violence against Women
- 1998: Women and Human Rights
- 1997: Women at the Peace Table
- 1996: Celebrating the Past, Planning for the Future
- 1975: First IWD celebrated by the United Nations

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